Chapter 6
Putting on her bravest face, Hifumi stood before Anders and uttered with all the energy she could muster:
“You sure... you don’t want my help?”
- Takimoto, you still aren’t well. I promised you we would do something together afterwards, so please be patient.
Her fifth failure this morning at helping make breakfast, Hifumi slumped onto her chair with a pout. Several weeks had passed since she had returned to her apartment, Anders keeping his promise of watching over her without fail. He woke up early enough for it to be dark outside and only left when she had fallen asleep for the night, helping her get her tablets through the day without missing a beat. He also insisted on doing the cooking, making numerous dishes both Japanese and European that she enjoyed immensely despite feeling guilty. She had found out by accident from Mom that Anders was deliberately making dishes that aimed to boost her recovery while low in salt, courtesy of his quick training that he respectfully withheld from Mom. She again felt unending gratitude for him and his consideration, so far not having had any incidents of significance.
Yet, that gratitude was burdened by events like what was about to occur.
The doorbell suddenly rang in the apartment, Anders finishing up the food on the pan before heading over to check who it was. It didn’t take long though for him to return in a panic, slamming the living room door behind himself.
“W-what’s wrong?” she asked, worried there was a criminal at the door. He hastily typed out an answer for her:
- Rin and Yagami. Help.
Hifumi gave a sigh as she struggled to get up, slowly making her way to the door he had just closed.
“Fine. Just... hide for now.”
He nodded before dashing off to their agreed hiding spot, turning all the appliances off beforehand. She had been hesitant about him hiding the first time she received a visit from Aoba a few weeks ago, but his pleading had won her over in the end. So she agreed to him hiding in her closet under the condition that he put on a blindfold. She didn’t want him to find out about her cosplay hobby, still finding the topic far too embarrassing to tell him about. Once he vanished, she moved to the hallway and unlocked the door, revealing precisely who Anders said was there.
“Hey, Hifumin. Still kicking, I see.”
“H-hi, Yagami, Rin.” Hifumi said with genuine tiredness in her voice, “I didn’t expect... you to come by.”
Yagami gave a grin as she raised a box of confectionery.
“We thought we’d hang out a bit with you. It must be lonely, sitting home all the time without company. Don’t tell Sojiro that.”
Hifumi giggled lightly, aware she couldn’t spill the beans on her pseudo-roommate and stepped aside.
“W-well, come in... I was just making breakfast and.. there’s too much.”
Yagami and Rin excused themselves as they entered, Rin immediately picking up on the scent that wafted from the kitchen.
“That smells amazing. Should go well with the cakes as well.”
“T-thanks. I’m trying out a new recipe.”
She guided them along to the table, her burdened movements still clear as day. However, she had found out to her relief that she was slowly getting better at them. She didn’t get exhausted as quickly as before and her breathing had improved as well. She tried to get them to sit down while she prepared the table, but both refused vehemently. Forced to once again sit in silence while they did everything for her, she watched glumly as Rin brought the food while Yagami set up the table for three. They sat down and said their usual greetings, before beginning to dig in. As expected, Anders’ food tasted as good as ever, Hifumi giving a pleased squeal from herself that made her blush scarlet. Yagami didn’t pick on it though, only laughing without a hint of ill intent in her voice.
“You sound like a schoolgirl. Is the food you make that good normally?”
Realizing the danger in the question, she fought to keep her head on straight while answering:
“N-no, but the... recipe was much better than expected.”
Rin leaned over the table, a curious glint in her eyes.
“Could you tell me it? I’d love to use it for me and Kou sometimes.”
“I…” Hifumi began, before Yagami cut her off.
“Oh come on Rin, wait with that. Not like you’re in a rush for new recipes.”
Rin gave her an admonished look.
“Of course it’s important Kou! I mean, we’re…”
Rin suddenly fell silent, playing with her fingers while Yagami suddenly showed a pink tinge on her cheeks. Hifumi only needed a moment to figure out what was going on.
“A-are you two... together now?”
Rin almost screamed in what Hifumi presumed to be glee, while Yagami gave a nervous laugh.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Kou! What do you mean, ‘something like that’? You’re the one who asked me out!”
“Shush, you!” Yagami exclaimed while trying to plug her mouth. Hifumi stared at their antics for a while, before giving a giggle that made both fall silent.
“That’s a... surprise. For Kou to be asking you out... I thought she’d never…”
“Right?” Rin exclaimed while acting unusually giddy, “I didn't believe it either. But she just comes up to me last month and tells me…”
“Oi, that’s private Rin!”
“Oh come on, Kou! At least tell Hifumi about it!”
“I said no!”
Rin began to pout, crossing her arms and making Yagami sigh deeply.
“Sorry for the noise.”
Hifumi felt herself become flustered, waving her hands wildly before her to dispel any bad thoughts:
“N-no, it’s alright. I’m just... surprised you realized Rin’s feelings.”
“Yeah well, a lot happened the last few months and it took me some time to get my own feelings in order.”
Her expression grew a bit darker as she said it, Hifumi somewhat aware what she was referencing but not pointing it out.
“I… see. Why did you tell me now though?”
“Ah well, you see,” Yagami began, still pink, “We wanted to tell you straight away, but we knew you had just been released from hospital and didn’t want to stress you out. So Rin and I decided to be the first ones to tell you.”
“That...explains why Aoba was so eager to say something…”
“Yeah, she and the others figured it out pretty quickly. Not like you could hide Rin hugging me every two minutes.”
“Well excuse me for being happy!”
“I wasn’t criticizing you, just pointing out that my arm is almost numb from all the grabbing.”
“I’m just making sure you don’t go anywhere.”
“Where would I even go?” Yagami asked, only now aware that Hifumi had been staring at something beside her the whole time in shock.
“Hifumin? You ok? Is there something…?”
She was about to turn around when Hifumi let her fork drop on the plate, the sound turning them back in her direction.
“N-no, it’s fine. I just… thought I saw a bee fly around. Must be my imagination.”
“A bee? All the way in the city?”
“L-like I said, I must have imagined it. A-anyway… let’s finish eating, the food’s getting cold.”
Neither of them complained, digging in with as much energy as Hifumi herself. She couldn’t help but send a worried glance over to her bedroom door, which was thankfully closed now. Once they finished their meal, the cakes came out in all their splendor, Hifumi enchanted by the strawberry one that glistened red. As diligent consumers, they pushed their way through the cakes, Hifumi already sensing her stomach complain. She ignored it though, giving a satisfied sigh at the end. Rin moved to stand up, Hifumi catching her eying the empty plates.
“I’ll clean them... You’re the guests, let me... at least do that much.”
Rin sent a worried glance, but Hifumi’s glare convinced her otherwise, instead only discarding the cake package while Yagami decided to watch Sojiro eat from his bowl.
“Hey Hifumin.” she heard Yagami say with intrigue in her voice.
“Y-yeah, Kou?”
“How old is Sojiro anyway?”
“He’s... four years old. Nearly five.”
“Wow, so you’ve had him since entering the company, huh?”
“Y-yeah. Mom said... it’d help with me living alone if I had a pet, but... dogs and cats were too scary.”
“And you went for a hedgehog of all things? Don’t get me wrong, he’s cute,” she said while being lightly pricked by Sojiro’s spines, “but it’s funny how out of all the males you have trouble with, a hedgehog’s one you can. All cute and sweet on the inside but surrounded by spikes that make it hard to approach.”
A mischievous smirk crept on her face, making Hifumi begin to fear for her life.
“Don’t tell me, your taste in partners is the same?”
Hifumi’s vision turned scarlet as she stammered out:
“W-what are you saying?”
Yagami giggled to herself, only to be shot down by Rin’s disapproving glare.
“Sorry, just teasing a bit. I was just wondering what brought it on when you began to talk to Anders without trouble. Was he really the same way as Sojiro in your eyes?”
The change in topic almost made Hifumi stumble over her words, thankfully restraining herself before she said anything dangerous. She moved to seat herself, beginning to fumble with her fingers:
“Just... a little bit.”
Now both Yagami and Rin eyed her with interest, though Yagami’s eyes were a slight shade gloomier than before.
“Anders... never came across as intimidating… he was kind... fun and easy to talk to. I know I said he was like Sojiro but... that wasn’t the whole truth.”
“How so?”
“He always… struck me as someone who always smiled... despite how he really felt... someone who hid a lot from others. So I wondered to myself ‘Why is he hiding it?’ every time we talked. I never… found out what it was, but I was always curious. I suppose that’s why... him leaving hurt so much. I never got to figure out what I could do to help him.”
A quick glance showed Rin looking sympathetic. Yagami however, looked outright disturbed for a moment.
“True.” she murmured, “He could really be a mystery sometimes.”
“Kou?”
Yagami shook her head, producing a wide smile instead.
“Never mind. Come on Rin, let’s go. Hifumin, you must still be tired right?”
“A-actually...”
But she never got to finish as Yagami grabbed Rin’s hand, making the woman squeal in surprise.
“That’s alright, we understand. We’ll tell the others you’re doing better. It’s good to see you again Hifumin. Bye.”
They quickly left for the foyer after that, Rin’s questions to Yagami falling on deaf ears as Hifumi watched them put on their shoes and exit through the door. They were gone before she could even say goodbye, the door closing on her words. As she stood there, still confused as to what happened, she heard the bedroom door open. She turned around to see Anders enter the living room, looking depressed.
“They sure left quickly. Are you… alright?”
He nodded, before handing her the opened notebook and moving to the kitchen for the dishes. She stared after him for a bit until she caught the first few words on the page:
- That was uncomfortable. I promised you we’d do something today, so please go put on your gym uniform and overalls. I’ll wait for you by the door.
She read the message twice with a confused look. She had no idea why he would need her to wear her sports clothes, but she decided that he knew what he was doing. As she went to get changed however, she realized something that made her blush with shame.
He knew I had a gym uniform… which means…
She rushed as fast as her heart would allow, swinging her closet doors open with a flourish. To her dismay, she saw her gym uniform and overalls hanging all the way in the front, right next to her Moon Ranger outfit. A note was hung on her gym shirt, picking it up to read:
- Please wear this. I like your taste in shows, by the way. Sorry for peeking.
She groaned and fell to her knees, covering her face in embarrassment and wishing she could sink into the floor.
A while later, she finally picked up the confidence to put her clothes on and head over to the door, Anders having waited patiently for her. She quickly put on her sneakers and followed him out of the apartment, asking in the meantime:
“W-where are we going?”
He looked back at her, before scribbling a note:
- It’s a surprise. Just wait, you’ll like it.
Now genuinely curious, she followed him as they departed the apartment complex and began to walk down the nearest road, Anders marching as if he knew the route from childhood. Hifumi checked to make sure nobody could see her gym uniform underneath her overalls, already embarrassed enough that she was walking outside with them. She had bought them on a whim, never expecting to use them.
Their walk took a good ten minutes, eventually leading them to an open park with trees placed densely around the edges. The park was decorated with a makeshift baseball field in the corner, while small mounds dotted one whole side. The most striking thing about it though was the white track painted onto the ground, forming a large rounded rectangle. As she continued looking around herself, she caught Anders pull out his notebook, revealing a paragraph he must have prepared in advance.
- Here we are. This is a public park for young athletes and school teams to train, so no playground fortunately. We’ll be spending some time here every day to train.
“Train?” she asked, not sure what he meant. He instead urged her to keep reading:
- You’ll be doing running exercises here. With me supervising, of course.
“Running? Me?” Hifumi already felt faint at the prospect. “But I’m terrible at it. I couldn’t run well even before the attack.”
- It’s partially the reason you had the heart attack in the first place. I’ve been helping you regain your energy for a few weeks now to give your body reserves for when you’re pushing yourself. We need to make sure what happened over a month ago doesn’t repeat itself. Therefore, the doctor suggested you pick up running.
“He did?”
- Well, he suggested the activity and I found this place. There aren’t a lot of people here around this time, so we’ll have it mostly for ourselves. We won’t do anything drastic straight away, you need to get used to it first. For now, please take this.
He pulled out a blister packet and a small bottle of water, Hifumi recognizing it as one of her tablets for controlling her heartbeat. It took no time at all to swallow the tablets and have him guide her towards the running track. Anders paused to await some form of confirmation from her. She nodded to show her understanding, although she was still hesitant. She had deliberately avoided physical exercise due to her anxiety of being seen, and it had ended with her losing her own heart. So now that she was carrying a new, stronger heart, she was supposed to train the rest of her body to keep up?
Anders noted her worried expression, taking her through a series of stretching exercises that gave her body just enough strain to feel it without being too unbearable. Once he was satisfied, he began to march down the track, Hifumi following him at an equal pace. As they finished walking half the length, Anders picked up a conversation topic:
I wanted to point out, your mother and Eagle Jump are aware of these training exercises. However, I can’t have them find out you’re being trained by me while you’re recovering. So while you’re not home, the story is that you’re receiving private training by an unnamed professional in the hospital.
“I... see.” she said with a sullen tone, suddenly feeling saddened by something. She pondered what it was, before remembering a question she’d been wanting to ask.
“Anders? Can I... ask a question?”
He nodded in response.
“Why did you hide your true name from my mother?”
He gave a small grimace, quickly writing an answer:
- Because I found that she is acquainted with Hazuki. Your mother receives regular texts from her, asking how you’re doing and such. If she was to let slip that I was with you, there’s no telling what might happen.
“Then... why do you continue to hide? Why not tell Kou or the others what you’re doing for me?”
His grimace this time was clear as day.
- Because I still feel like I betrayed them. Yagami, Hazuki, Aoba. I feel like they expected great things from me and I failed. I was pulled into the job because of their good-will and ended up ruining it by running due to my own fear. So I feel I have no place with them. You saw Yagami’s reaction when you talked about me, right?
“Yes, I saw also that you... had opened the bedroom door.”
- Then you know that especially Yagami doesn’t want to see me again. She actually found me in the graveyard the day you nearly died.
Hifumi gazed at him in shock. She had no idea this had happened, Yagami having kept quiet about it.
“W-why didn’t she tell us?”
- Because she said she wouldn’t. She caught me at my most vulnerable and decided that I had removed all chances of ever reconciling with her. So as a final favor, she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone where I was.
“But why then was she so... distant when we talked about you? It looked like something... really bothered her.”
The atmosphere around Anders suddenly darkened, making Hifumi shrink back a bit. She worried about having stepped on a landmine, until he wrote back:
- That’s because she found out about something that really disturbed her. Something I’ve never shared with people before. She saw it without advance warning and it made her reconsider a lot about me and my actions.
“M-may I ask what it was?”
Anders suddenly stopped, gazing up into the sky with a depressed stare that made her even more uncomfortable. After an awkward few minutes, he pulled out his phone and typed something in it, before taking off at a brisk pace. She wanted to follow him, but first pulled out her phone from her pocket to check the message. The words she read though shocked her to her core.
- Six years ago, I lost my mother, my friend Yumina, and my wife Sayuri in a car accident. I was the driver and only survivor.
She stared at the letters with a horrified expression, before refocusing her attention on Anders, who was already back at the park entrance. She decided on not running, instead moving at a brisk pace that barely qualified as a walk. When she came within twenty feet of Anders, he suddenly took off again at the same fast pace as before, forcing her to continue after him. They kept this up for almost the entire stretch of the course, Hifumi sensing her legs growing weak after half the distance while her breathing became heavier. She pressed on however, Anders unrelenting in his march. Soon enough, they began to approach the point where she had begun her fast walk, her mind already clouded by her own exhaustion.
“W-wait…” she panted, before falling to her knees. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribcage, sounding like some foreign object.
Oh wait, it was.
She barely caught anything of her surroundings anymore, the world having become fuzzy for her. Hearing her heart pound made her begin to panic, before she caught herself and began the breathing routine she had gotten so acquainted with.
Release all the air in your lungs. Inhale through nose and hold for three seconds. Release through pursed lips and relax muscles.
She did this over and over, her heartbeat slowly coming back to a normal pace while her body was caked with sweat. As she fought to regain control over her body, she sensed somebody leaning over her. Unable to see who it was though, she lowered herself onto the ground, the fight having taken the last of her energy. She therefore gave no resistance when the figure began to lift her onto its back, Hifumi marveling briefly how wide it was while her arms hung over the front. It began to take long steps across the field, its stride steady and gentle with each step. A final shred of her consciousness woke her to the possible danger she was in. It gave her enough strength to rip her eyes open, glancing up at the sudden height she was at. It was disconcerting to see the world from such an angle, easily a foot higher than what she was used to. Yet what surprised her even more was the person carrying her.
“Anders...” she whispered, him grunting in acknowledgment before continuing to walk. She moved to say something, only to be held back by a shake of his head. Sensing that he couldn’t talk even if he wanted to, she resigned herself to leaning more on him, wrapped in the intense heat his body gave away under his shirt. She maneuvered her grip around his neck slightly to ensure she was secure, before resting her body in his grasp. In the end, she felt comfortable enough to give up her caution, snuggling into his shirt while murmuring:
“Anders... thank you again for everything... you’re doing so much for me and yet... I can’t do anything else but collapse on you. I still... feel so weak.”
He couldn’t speak, but she felt his grip on her tighten a bit.
“That’s why… please give me time. Give me the chance to prove to you... that I can do something for you as well. You always… look so tired when you’re smiling. I want to change that... because I care about you... regardless of what you tell me. You don’t have to be alone with what you carry.”
That used up the last of her energy, falling into a dreamless sleep that held nothing for her but darkness. She sensed Anders’ body trembling before she lost all touch with reality.
